How to Hide the Smell of Weed from Neighbors (15 Simple Tricks)

Most cannabis users eventually learn how to hide the smell of weed from parents, teachers, or when they get older — from neighbors or coworkers (yikes).

The unique aroma of cannabis can be very persistent, obvious, and hard to get rid of, especially if it’s in your clothes, hair, or even your furniture.

Here are some tips and tricks on how to get rid of that marijuana smell during and after smoking, with a bonus tip on how to store cannabis without spreading the odor.

Prepare the smoking space

Preparing the room before smoking is important for getting rid of the smell afterwards.

Here are some simple things you can do before lighting up a joint which will make your life easier when the couch-lock kicks in and you get too lazy to air out your chamber.

Ventilation

If you are growing marijuana indoors, or if you simply often smoke behind closed doors and windows, it’s necessary to have a proper ventilation system installed. It’s important to have constant airflow in order to keep the space fresh and it’s much easier to get rid of the marijuana smell from a well-ventilated room.

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How to reduce the smell of weed while smoking

There are a couple of things you can do to cover up the weed smell or prevent it from spreading in the first place.

Incense

If we’ve learned something from “That ‘70s Show” circle scene it is that lighting incense sticks during smoking can mask the smell of weed. Although this can be tricky since simply owning incense can make other people suspect your marijuana habit.

Hit up essential oils

Essential oils are a great way of camouflaging the cannabis odor. There is a wide range of scents on the market and with the increasing popularity of essential oils over the last few years, there are now many types of essential oil diffusers available.

Make a sploof

A sploof is a simple and easy-to-make filter which supposedly turns the smell of weed into the smell of freshly washed laundry.

Yes, you read that correctly.

If you are a DIY kind of person, you’re going to love this homemade device.

All you need is a toilet paper roll (or a plastic bottle), a paper towel, scented dryer sheets and an elastic band.

Here is how to make a sploof in four steps:

Take a toilet paper roll (or a plastic bottle, and cut the top off with scissors or a knife).

Fill the toilet roll tube with three or four scented dryer sheets.

Take another dryer sheet or a paper towel and fold over one end of the toilet roll.

Do not inhale through the sploof because the fabric dryer sheets contain chemicals that can be unpleasant to breathe in.

When you smoke pot, exhale the smoke into your DIY device and it will smell like you just washed your clothes.

Smoke in a bottle

If you don’t want the smoke to spread through your room, and if you are feeling very, very lazy, exhale the smoke into a big plastic bottle and then simply screw on the cap.

How to get rid of weed smell after smoking

Besides opening the windows and turning on the fan, there are a more few tips and tricks to get rid of marijuana odor fast.

Cook an aromatic meal

If you have to get rid of the smell very quickly, cooking a nice meal in your home is actually not a bad idea.

Choose a recipe with fragrant herbs and spices and be sure to add some garlic or onions into the pan. Those aromatic ingredients will mask the smell of weed almost instantly.

Safety tip: It’s fun to cook while high, but please be extra cautious, and double-check to make sure you turned the stove off when you’re done.

Vinegar

Vinegar can do wonders when it comes to cleaning your house, but also it’s very useful for eliminating odors. The smell of vinegar is not as pleasant as you might expect, but it wears off after an hour or so, taking the marijuana smell with it. Plus, it’s cheap, it’s available in your local store and you can use it afterward for cooking and cleaning.

To use, boil a cup of vinegar in a saucepan on your stove until the smell spreads throughout the room and masks the weed odor.

Fragrant furniture

The smell of cannabis can be very persistent, especially if you smoke often in one particular room. Fortunately, there are a few ways to get rid of the weed smell from carpets and fabrics.

Baking soda can do wonders when it comes to absorbing smells and plus it’s not harmful. You can simply add a few inches of baking soda into a shallow, wide box or dish and leave it in the room for a few days. It will take some time to absorb any odors, so it’s not a bad idea to just keep a dish in the room before, during, and after smoking.

Activated charcoal has been used for years as a smell neutralizer, especially in industries using gases and liquids. It binds to the odor molecules and attaches them to the surface. You can buy room deodorizer bags that contain activated charcoal or you can buy activated charcoal powder and use it in much the same way as baking soda.

The faster way to get the smell out of your furniture is by spraying odor removers or neutralizers onto it. Don’t forget to read the instructions first, since some of these products are not suitable for all types of fabrics or materials.

How to hide the smell of your stash?

Dried cannabis flowers have a very intense smell. Most of us like it, but some people can’t really stand it.

Whether you are hiding your stash from someone or just don’t want your room to smell like fresh weed, it’s handy to keep these tricks in mind.

Also, you can try combining some of these tips. Try experimenting to see which trick will work the best for your stash.

Plastic bags

Storing your stash in plastic zipper bags or vacuum bags will minimize the smell and will also keep your pot fresh a little bit longer. Freezer bags tend to be thicker and stronger than other types of bags.

Glass or ceramic containers and Mason Jars

Depending on the material itself, cannabis can leave a strong odor on the container you keep it in. That’s why a ceramic or a glass jar with a good rubber seal is a must have for every pot smoker.

Bonus tip (triple protection strategy)

Although I live alone and I have pretty cool neighbors, I don’t like my apartment smelling of weed. You never know who might show up unannounced. So to avoid awkward situations, I tend to follow almost all of the rules I lined out above, plus a little trick of my own.

My secret is that I use “triple protection”. It’s not stupid if it works.

This is how I store my stash:

First, I put the weed in a little plastic bag and then wrap that in an aluminum foil. Next, I put it all in an odor-resistant bag and then I put the whole bundle in a glass jar.

Try this method and you’ll see that there is no way the smell is getting out.

47 thoughts on “How to Hide the Smell of Weed from Neighbors (15 Simple Tricks)”

Mentos perfectly removes the smell from the mouth. To get rid of a cannabis smell in my place I use room spray. And yes, for those geniuses who think that you blow out weed smell with a fan: a) the smell can be absorbed into some surfaces in the room so fan become useless; b) it blows away on your neighbors.
For transportation I use a vacuum container. https://secretstorages.com/best-smell-proof-containers/

I live in an apartment and my neighbors smoke regularly, opening their patio doors to air their place out. The smoke gets sucked straight into my air conditioning unit triggering headaches, burning noise and throat and asthma attacks bad enough for an emergency inhaler. Seems to get worse each time.

I don’t care if people use, but for God’s sake stop killing the rest of us!

I’m just saying I have asthma and I smoke 3-5 times a day only need my rescue inhaler when I get one of those good coughs and it enhances my high 😂🤣💨 so I don’t know what your talking about the small of weed is not gonna trigger an asthma attack little bit overdramatic

Thanks for your kind words. To be honest, I haven’t used the air purifier to hide the smell of weed. But, what I have found out is – it all depends on the quality of the purifier and the size of the room. Just make sure to get the right one for your home and to change the filters regularly. Hope this will help you.

How about preventing the smell to spread to your neighbours in a condominium? Using room sprays or any deodorants you just pollute the condominium complex. I can sit in my condo living room and be smelling a little bit of weed, some candy like vape smell, then glade and fabrese. Some of these scents causes me to sneeze and have a sore throat. Is there a more environmentally friendly way to smoke weed and not bothering other people? Especially young children around you. May be smoke outside and meditate indoor for relaxation.

best thing to do is vape flowers. i use an arizer extreme q and an arizer solo 2. i keep my stash in glass containers (leak proof) with 62% boveda packs to keep my herb fresh. the smell is very faint as opposed to smoke, you can use the heater on an extreme q and diffuse essential oil. keep the vaped buds in another mason jar and when you have a couple ounces, flush with water a few times, then make oil or butter. you dont have to decarb because the vaped bud is already decarbed! you will barely smell anything from vaping the flower, and you get the added benefit of not smoking. i do it through water pipes for even smoother hits.

How do I keep the smell out of my apartment? I’ve spoke to management and of course the neighbors lied and said they don’t smoke weed, but I smell it daily inmy apartment and I have a young child. Any and all suggestions would help. I also triggers my migraine headaches.

I can relate because I get headaches from the second hand smoke as well. If it is entering via the entrance door try a good weather seal around perimeter the door where it mates with the top and sides of the door frame. Use a door seal at the bottom of the door.

I usually place a fan facing outwards towards an open window. This will forcefully push the smoke out. Make sure you are near the fan so that you have a better chance of smoke not escaping. Usually my apartment still has a light smell of Mary Jane which I can easily eliminate with smoke odor candles purchased at smoke shop. These steps work great with hiding the smell from neighbors.

For storing, put your flower in a regular plastic baggie, roll it up amd then put that bag in a vacuum seal bag and seal it with vaccuum sealer. This is THE single best method for keeping flower from stinking. Also, keep your water pipes amd other accessories clean.

I think the asshole in this is you and the others that think just like you. We’re living in a country thats finally appreciating the love for weed but we still have those nosey cry babies that love to make it difficult for the rest of us.

It’s not being nosey. The thing with weed is that the smell travels and if you don’t indulge, it’s offensive to some and unhealthy for others. It’s your choice to smoke, it’s mine not to. Unfortunately, if we live in a condo I still get the smell. If the smoker doesn’t take precautions, there’s nothing I can do to stop it from getting into my home.

I bought my first house a couple of yrs ago, a semi-detached and my luck I live next door to two of the biggest, most useless human beings on the planet, who wake up smoking pot and go to bed smoking pot. They don’t give a shit about their two small kids, so why expect they will care about how my house reeks of their shit. Smoke all you want as long as it doesn’t affect others!!!! Not happening with current laws. I want to move, but buying a detached home in southern Ontario requires more than I can spend on my own. Don’t my rights end where someone else’s begin? how is that not the case for marihuana smokers?

I notice you do not leave any helpful comments for those of us suffering from inconsiderate stoner neighbors who do not care if they are preventing us from enjoying our apartments. My apartment routinely smells like a bevy of skunks lifted their tails and ran. I have neighbors to the left, top, bottom, and right. Management doesn’t care.
Marijuana use is still illegal in NYS and by federal law. It gives me a headache and it makes me feel irritable and upset. Why can you not leave helpful hints for us.
I was against stop and frisk. Now I see the unintended consequences since it was stopped.

Hi Sophie, thank you for your comment and I apologize for not being considerate enough. This particular article was focused on how not to bother others with the smell of weed from the consumers perspective. Let me do some research to see how you can protect yourself from the smell.

Helena, if you come up with ANY more tips to help us non smoking neighbors PLEASE leave them. I CAN’T afford to move. I am NOT against the rights for them just trying to protect my health at 65.
Bless you.